Interview of Irene Martinsson

in

Name: Irene Martinsson

Short presentation

Ph. D. Irene Martinsson is Senior Programme Manager and has worked for VINNOVA since 2007. Her duties include development of new program activities and policies for Service Innovation. Furthermore, Irene’s work also covers programme management as well as impact analysis. Prior VINNOVA, she worked for the Swedish Ministry of Industry as assistant to the minister.

VINNOVA (The Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems)

VINNOVA is a State authority that aims to promote growth and prosperity throughout Sweden. The particular area of responsibility comprises innovations linked to research and development. The tasks are to fund the needs-driven research required by a competitive business and industrial sector and a flourishing society, and to strengthen the networks that are such a necessary part of this work.

Service innovation in general

Service innovation is steadily getting the position it deserves in Europe. What you consider to be major challenges in changing the mind-set to recognize service businesses and service innovation as a powerful economic force in the EU? What would you like to recommend in overcoming these challenges?

The increasing importance of service production has been noted by both scholars and practitioners. Despite the recent focus on service innovation as a linear process there has been relatively little attention given to the new forms of innovation management in the field of services. Traditionally innovation management is viewed as an organizational capacity and the innovation process is divided into different phases. Initially, new ideas are generated within the organizational context and chosen in line with a strategic plan for innovation. Subsequently, innovations formalize as R&D teams are created to design the innovation. The third phase is where new services or processes are designed and tested by end-customer.

In WP 4 it is suggested that there is not a full and adequate understanding of how to manage the non-linear and market driven innovation such as open and user-driven innovation. Most existing examples in this area have been carried out using models developed from studies of innovation for tangible products. It is also suggested that the unique characteristics of services may require a new starting point such as customers or market needs in opposition to, for example, an intra-organizational R&D team. Understanding new forms of innovation management initiatives requires shifting the view of service innovation from a strictly linear process driven by market push to the users and inter-organizational service development driven by a market pull.

Service Innovation in Sweden

What have been the role of the public sector and especially the role of VINNOVA in the context of service innovations?

Key service innovation policy actors in Sweden include Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, Swedish Government Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA), The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (NUTEK), Almega and the Knowledge Foundation (KK-foundation).

The number of companies that supply services increases. Services are thus an increasingly important part of the labour market with significant potential to contribute to Sweden's growth. Services are about creating value for the customer based on the interaction between customer and supplier. Service delivery is built up of processes in which communication is central and where the offering is often made possible and enhanced by technology. Service Research and Service Innovations are integrated in all VINNOVA’s focus areas. In these areas development and change are increasingly powered by service and not by technology. The service area is characterized by both demand and market opportunities (i.e., both “pull” and “push”). Today the demand side is growing the most - services that drive technological development.

VINNOVA is currently carrying out a variety of initiatives with strong relevance to the service area. In addition to actions with a strong service and customer perspective, such as service innovations, e-health and e-government, services are central in several other efforts, such as Living Labs and effective product development. In addition, several strong research and innovation environments are funded in several places in Sweden. It concerns services intended to optimize potential growth and competitiveness in Swedish specific areas of competence.

It is clear that ongoing changes in the manufacturing industry create a shift of focus towards services and service innovations and their potential contributions to the industry. VINNOVA's service efforts also capture this change by financing projects requested by the manufacturing industry, basic industries and businesses which are clearly service-oriented.

Companies’ strategies clearly state a development with increased service content in offerings. Swedish and European companies demand both more knowledge and new tools to succeed in this change process.

Furthermore, in the field of eGovernment VINNOVA contributes to fund projects to intra- and inter organizational cooperation for innovative e-administration, as well as reinforcing Sweden’s attractiveness to national and international companies, organizations, researchers and other top experts. More efficient public administration also helps private companies to become more efficient. Successful innovation in this field demands supplementation of investments in technical research and development with knowledge development relating to organizational criteria for cooperation both within and among public organizations.

EPISIS

What is the role of VINNOVA in EPISIS (targets and ways of achieving the targets)?

Companies and governments throughout Europe have, to a large extent, become aware of the fact that service dominates economic growth. In EPISIS, VINNOVA is heading up a Work Package where a Service-Dominant Logic is used as a new language to convey concepts that emphasize skill and knowledge as objects of exchange. Existing instruments need to be adjusted as the focus of market exchange is shifting from products to an understanding of the process of value creation. Service is value creation for the customers and builds on cooperation between customer and supplier. Service delivery is processes where communication is central and the service offer is often enabled by technology. The new innovation patterns emphasize solutions and points to opportunities for expanding the market by assisting the customers in the process of value creation. We need to awaken to the realization that service development is a continuous process that, in opposition to a traditional separate R&D project, is often embedded within firms. A new innovation paradigm need to acknowledge that renewal can be a process that is always already at work in firms, where new ideas stem from employees as well as users/customers.

Why VINNOVA decided to join EPISIS?

VINNOVA’s service innovation project portfolio cover the following areas; knowledge and method development for innovation management, renewal of the service system, value networks and enabling ICT and processes.

VINNOVA participates in EPISIS together with many forward-thinking countries to highlighting service innovation-led economic development. VINNOVA has joined up with the leading countries in Europe in an attempt to find better practices and move towards market driven, user-driven and open innovation. Understanding the market and the users/customers in new forms of innovation management may be a key to boosting the future economic growth.